Lily Jones
- May 28, 2020
- 4 min read

Til' Death Do Us Party: A Gothic Wedding with a Twist

Updated: Jun 18, 2020

Day of the Dead traditions are celebrated in many countries and cultures across the world and is a great theme for a wedding if you want a touch of the Gothic but still want it to be super colourful and fun!

Last year we headed to the amazing Lost Village of Dode in Kent to create an inspirational styled shoot based around this theme. In this post, I'll be sharing my top tips on how to re-create this Gothic gorgeousness for your big day!

The Venue

Hidden away in the Kent countryside, the Lost Village of Dode is an abandoned Norman church that is just simply stunning! With it's original building, straw covered floor and lit entirely by candlelight, it truly is a Gothic lover's dream and was perfect for this Day of the Dead inspired wedding wonderland!

Colourful Florals

Sometimes it can be difficult to imagine wedding flowers that are bright, bold and funky without having to resort to artificial flowers. Flowers definitely don't have to be white on your wedding day and Jo from Moody Blooms created the most spectacular centrepieces for our colourful table! Pinks, reds and purples gave this Gothic wedding that unique pop of colour!

Sugar Skulls

You can't have a Day of the Dead celebration without some sugar skulls and we came up with some great ways to incorporate these into the decor and the special touches of the day without going too over the top. These hand-painted sugar skull planters filled with succulents make great table features as well as being lovely favours for guests to take away with them. They are available from us to hire or purchase for your big day.

Jo from Sweet Enchanted also made these amazing sugar skull cookie favours for us! And I can safely say her cookies are super delicious as well as unbelievably pretty!

An Ombre Veil

This theme is all about bright colours and popping that against dark Gothic black and red so what better way to do this than with an ombre veil. This gorgeous creation from Claire at XO Flo Veils began with traditional white and faded into pink, then red and finally black and it was definitely the star of the show! She has even included some 3D elements with colourful flowers sewn throughout the veil. Simply stunning!

A Statement Dress

We've heard of black wedding dresses but how about red? Red says funky Gothic rather than going the whole way with a black dress! This gorgeous dark red bridal two piece from Matchimony has a beautiful train and contrasts with the traditional white lace bridal top.

Funky Wedding Cars

Wedding cars don't have to traditional. In fact they don't have to be wedding cars! These two are actually hearses - super fun hearses!

Vehicles don't get as wacky as this one from Flower Power Funerals which is covered in multicoloured artificial flowers! (I know this is how I want to roll up to my funeral!) It's perfect for a DotD themed wedding and will definitely be the talking point!

For something a bit less wacky but still unique, Greens Carriages have this fabulous pink hearse! You'll definitely arrive in style!

The Cake

This black cake from Lou at Bake to the Future was perfect for this theme. Up close one of the black layers was actually glittery! It was then adorned with colourful edible lace in traditional DotD designs. A wedding cake with the wow factor indeed!

Finishing Touches

Those little finishing touches are a great way to bring out your theme without going too over the top. We had some fabulous finishing touches for this shoot including two gorgeous hairpieces from Alexandra Bespoke, a matching hand-painted jacket and shoes from Miss Mollys and a bespoke black aisle runner from Butterfly Aisle Runners.

This stunning bouquet and buttonhole adorned with crystal encrusted skulls was the handiwork of Jane as Maddison Rocks and were just too fabulous for words! If you're worried about going full on Gothic for your big day then little touches like these can be a great way to add a little touch of uniqueness!

Fun Photography

And finally, don't be afraid to have fun with your photographer! It's what will bring out your personalities in your photographs, even if that means getting into a coffin! Don't worry, we're weird too!